The One Who Got Left Behind
by temperanceluvr
Summary: Tsukiko has been living with Shigure for the past ten years. With so much hardship in her past, Tsukiko hasn't opened up much to anyone. Will Tohru be able to help her to start trusting again? Can Tsukiko summon the courage to confess to her first love? Who is the strange yet familiar man that keeps running into Tsukiko? Please read & review
1. Prologue

It began to rain as I made my way back home. I ducked into the small train station near my school and saw a girl standing by the tracks. She looked like she was an elementary school student, judging by her uniform. She was holding onto a small stuffed cat and I could see that she was soaking wet.

"Hey there," I said walking over to her. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"

She didn't look up at me but said, "I'm waiting for my big brother."

I was a little surprised by her response. This train station had closed down about two years ago. Surely this girl knew that, seeing as we were the only ones there. I was about to ask the girl if she possibly had the wrong train station when she spoke again.

"Daddy took Kenta with him after he and mommy had a fight." She said. "Kenta promised that he would come back. He told me to wait for him."

_Her parents must've gotten a divorce._ I thought as she rocked back and forth on her heels. _Her dad probably went back to his hometown and took her brother with him and left her with her mother. But then why is she standing here all alone? Where's her mother?_

"It looks like the rain has stopped; would you mind if I walk you home?" I asked holding out my hand. I knew if I just left her there it would bother me for the rest of the week.

She looked up at me with her big brown eyes. "Kenta says not to go with strangers…" she says. "What's your name? If I know your name then you won't be a stranger anymore."

"My name is Shigure Sohma, what's your name?"

"Tsukiko Suzuki," she replied taking my hand.

Tsukiko told me where she lived and I walked her home. She held onto my hand while we walked and I couldn't help but smile. She looked like Yuki, the way she held onto her stuffed cat.

"Mommy says that I'm gonna go live with Nana soon." She said sadly as we came up to her street. "I don't wanna live with Nana… I wanna stay here so Kenta can find me."

I wondered what her mother could've meant when we came up to her house. "Hello? Is anyone home?" I called out as I walked Tsukiko inside. No answer. I began to feel uneasy. Something wasn't right. I started to look around to see if her mother was really home. When I glanced into the kitchen I froze.

"What's the matter Shigure?" Tsukiko asked as she walked toward me. Before she could see inside the kitchen, I quickly turned her away and lead her back to the front door. I knew now what her mother meant when she told Tsukiko that she would have to go live with her grandma. She told Tsukiko that because she was going to kill herself.


	2. Chapter 1: It's Hard to Stay Strong

Ten years have passed since my mother died. I've been living with Shigure due to the fact nobody had been able to reach my family. Shigure reminded me of Kenta and had become like a second older brother to me. I stayed with Shigure at the Sohma main house until he moved out and got a place of his own. I was in my first year of high school at the same school as Yuki Sohma, Shigure's cousin who also lives with us.

When I first came to live with Shigure, I was only six years old. The first night, it stormed outside and I couldn't sleep. I crawled over to Shigure and snuggled up next to him. For some reason, I wasn't startled when he transformed into a dog once I hugged him. Maybe I was too tired to be surprised or shocked by his transformation. It didn't seem to bother Shigure either. He allowed me to hold onto him that night, whether out of pity or kindness it didn't matter to me. On that night, at that moment, Shigure was all I had.

"Good morning Yuki," I said as Yuki walked down the stairs. Yuki had also become like a brother to me after he moved in with Shigure. Yuki and I were the same age and in the same class at school so it was easy for us to get along with each other. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, I slept very well last night. What about you, Tsukiko? How did you sleep?" Yuki asked walking over to me.

"Oh, I slept well last night too." I replied with a smile. "Shall we head out?"

Before we left, we heard a girl's voice from outside. We found Shigure talking to Tohru Honda, a girl in our class who sits next to me.

"Oh… but I guess you wouldn't have the cat…" Tohru said disappointed. She was referring to Shigure's little zodiac figures he had painted the night before. "My mom used to tell me the legend of the zodiac all the time when I was little. I felt sorry for the cat and said that I'd stop being a dog and be a cat instead."

I couldn't stop myself from giggling when she said that. _I wonder what Kyo would say if he knew she was a fan of his…_

"Oh! Y-Yuki! Tsukiko! I didn't know you two lived around here." She said surprised when she noticed me and Yuki. "Is this your house?"

I nodded. "I hope Shigure hasn't bothered you Tohru." I said to her. "He _can_ be quite odd at times, but once you get to know him he's not so bad."

"Tsuki—you make it sound like I'm a pervert or something!" Shigure whined.

Yuki took his backpack and hit Shigure on the head. "That's because you _act_ like a pervert." He said to Shigure. "Don't let my cousin get to you Miss Honda. Why don't the three of us go on to school?"

***After School***

I waited outside for Yuki and saw my friend Kiki running over to me. Kiki and I had known each other since preschool. She was the only one I told about living with Shigure after my mom died. "Tsuki—you are _not_ gonna believe this!" she said thrusting the school newspaper into my hands. "Look at what they've posted on the front page!"

"Kiki, you are probably the only one who _actually_ reads the school paper." I said rolling my eyes. I unfolded the newspaper and gasped at what was on the front page.

_**Kaibara High First Year Student Featured in Art Gallery**_

_It is no secret for those who know her that Tsukiko Suzuki is a talented artist and is always sketching something in her notebooks. It appears that Tsukiko submitted one of her drawings to a local art gallery and has been given notice that it will be put on display this Friday._

My face turned red with embarrassment and I looked up at Kiki. "Why would you do that Kiki? Why would you do this to me? You know how much I hate stuff like this!"

"Oh come on Tsuki, it's not _that_ bad, is it?"

I grabbed her shoulders. "Yes! It _is_ that bad!" I said angrily. I have always been very shy when it comes to my art. I usually keep all my drawings in sketchbooks and only show them to a few people. I probably have about ten to twenty sketchbooks in my bedroom that are full of my drawings, but I _never,_ _**ever**_ would have sent them to an art gallery!

I took a deep breath and gave her back the newspaper. "I can't believe you would do this to me Kiki…"

"Oh, it wasn't _me_." Kiki said with a smile. When Kiki smiled, it was hard to tell if she was lying or not. "I only found out about this when I got the paper. Though I must say, I _had_ thought about doing it, but I love you too much to do that to you!"

I sighed. I knew her too well and could see she was telling the truth. Kiki first told me that she would protect and look out for me when we were ten. If Kiki didn't do it, then I couldn't think of who would have sent my picture into the gallery, but it's too late now. I saw Yuki walking over and waved to him.

"Bye Kiki, I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?" I rushed over to join Yuki for the walk home. "So Yuki… I was thinking, since you and Shigure never cook and have basically turned the kitchen into a dump… if you'd don't mind, I could clean it up and start cooking again."

"That sounds like a great idea Tsukiko." Yuki said. "It will probably take more than one person to clean up the whole kitchen, so I'll help too."

I gave him a smile. "Thanks Yuki, for everything…"

While we waited for the light to change, I felt as if someone was watching us. I looked around and caught of glimpse of orange out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm going to go get some shopping done before I go home, so I'll see you later, alright?" I said quickly before rushing down the street.

***Kyo POV***

I followed Tsukiko as she headed home with a bag of groceries. I made sure that I stayed out of her sight. Before I went off to the mountains to train, I had upset Tsukiko and wasn't sure what it was I did. I wanted to know how I could apologize to her before I made the same mistake again.

She stopped by a park and sat on one of the swings. "I know you're there Kyo, you don't have to hide from me." She said without looking up.

I walked over to her and stood on the swing behind her like I did when we were little. "When did you notice I was following you?" I asked.

"Back when I was with Yuki." She replied. She was silent for a minute before saying, "Kyo… did you leave… because of me?"

_I __**hate**__ you! I don't know __**why**__ I—I hope I __**never**__ have to see you again! I HATE YOU!_

I sighed. "I left because… I left so I could train up in the mountains. I wanted to become stronger so that I can finally beat that damn rat!" she started laughing. "Huh? W-What are you laughing at? What's so funny?"

***Tsukiko POV***

Kyo jumped off the swing and stood in front of me as I laughed. "I'm sorry, it's just… I know that when we get home you are gonna start a fight with Yuki right off the bat."

"How is that funny?" he asked irritated.

"It means that things will go back to normal again." I said standing up. "Oh, that reminds me, I have to hurry home so I can start cleaning up the kitchen!" I scooped up my bags and before I left the park, I gave Kyo a smile. "When you're ready to come home, I'll be waiting for you."

On my way home I remembered the first time I met Kyo. It was while I was at the Sohma main house. I had just come home from school with Shigure and saw Kyo standing by himself in the courtyard.

"_Hi there," I said walking over to him. He ignored me. "My name is Tsukiko, what's your name?"_

I saw sadness in his eyes that day and, being only seven years old, only knew of one thing that could cheer anyone up. I'll admit I was a bit surprised when he transformed into a cat, but I didn't act like it. I held him in my arms and said what Kenta used to tell me when I was sad: _Don't ever be ashamed to cry. If you bottle things up inside, eventually they'll begin to eat away at you until there's nothing left. If something makes you sad, go ahead and cry._

"Kyo has changed a lot since then." I said to myself as I came up to the house. "I'm home—oh, Tohru!" Tohru was sitting in the living room with Shigure and Yuki. "Is everything alright?"

"It seems that Miss Honda has been living in a tent for almost a week." Yuki explained to me as I sat beside Tohru.

"Tohru! Why didn't you say that you had nowhere to go?" I exclaimed. "You can stay with me if you need to! My room is plenty big enough for both of us."

"Oh, I couldn't! I don't want to cause any trouble!" Tohru said. "Besides, it's only until the renovations are finish—" she swayed as if she were going to faint.

"Tohru!" Yuki checked her forehead and confirmed she had a fever. "I'll go find an ice pack!" I jumped up and maneuvered over the garbage in the kitchen. I had tried to clean up the kitchen many times before, but somehow I never even made a dent. It wasn't this bad when we first moved in, but when I was about eight, I spent the summer with Kiki and her family at their beach house. When I got back…well, I think you can figure out the rest…

"There's just been another landslide somewhere." Shigure said looking over his shoulder at the window. "The ground must still be weak from the storm."

"Oh no—what if it was near my tent?!" Tohru exclaimed jumping up. She ran out the door with Yuki, Shigure and I running after her. We found the landslide, which had covered and trashed Tohru's tent. "Mom's picture was still in there!"

I took her hand as she tried to dig her tent out. "Tohru, go back to the house with Shigure and Yuki. I'll stay here and make sure your mom is okay." I gave her a smile. "Please Tohru, if you get hurt trying to save her, won't that make her sad?"

Yuki and Shigure took Tohru back to the house. Digging through the dirt with my hands reminded me of when Kenta had taken me to the beach that one time. I don't remember much, but I _did_ remember that it was the last thing we did as a family. It was after that summer, when I was still only three years old, that my father left with Kenta. I had followed them to the train station and begged him to take me with him.

"_Tsukiko, you have to be strong, okay?" Kenta said, putting his hand on my head and placing his forehead against mine. "You have to be strong for mom. I promise to come back someday… so be a good girl while I'm gone, okay?"_

I started to cry. "I've been a good girl, Kenta…" I cried softly. "I know you told me to be strong but… it's getting harder every day…"


	3. Chapter 2: No Confidence

***Yuki POV***

After Tohru had fallen asleep, I went to go help Tsukiko to dig up the rest of Tohru's things. When I got there, Tsukiko seemed to have dug out most of Tohru's things on her own. She was still digging when I knelt down beside her and began to dig as well.

"Yuki… can I ask you something?" she asked as she pulled out the photo of Tohru's mother. "Do you think… do you think I'll ever see my brother again?" I looked up at her and saw that her face was a total mess. She had clearly been crying and I guess when she tried to wipe her eyes, she smeared some of the dirt onto her face.

"I'm sure you will Tsukiko," I replied. "I'm certain that Kenta can't wait until you are both together again."

She didn't talk after that. Our walk home was unusually quiet as well. I had known Tsukiko for a long time, but there was still so much that I didn't know about her. She didn't like to talk about herself so it was hard to know exactly what she was thinking.

"You're lucky," she said when we reached the house just as the sun was rising. "I know you and Ayame don't get along and you sometimes wish that you _weren't_ related to him, but you're still lucky to know him as well as you do. I'll admit… I envy you, Yuki. People can have something so precious right in front of them… and yet they don't seem to see how precious it really is… until it's gone…"

***Tsukiko POV***

"_Tsuki, do you know why mom calls you her little moon angel?" Kenta asked as we laid down for bed. I shook my head. "It's because she says that you were sent down to her from the moon goddess herself."_

_My eyes widened. "I'm from the moon?"_

_He smiled. "That's right, because even in the darkest of places, you are able to shine."_

_I smiled and curled up beside him under the blanket. "I love you big brother…" he wrapped his arm around me and before long, we were fast asleep._

I woke up to the sound of yelling and crashing from upstairs. I had fallen asleep in the living room after Yuki and I got back to the house. I was too tired to go upstairs to my room, so I rested my head on the table and slept in the living room.

I rubbed my eyes sleepily as someone ran down the stairs shouting. It must've been Tohru, judging from the voice, though I couldn't imagine what she was so upset about this early in the morning.

She burst into the living room with a transformed Kyo, Yuki and Shigure in her arms. "Tsukiko—they're animals! They're all animals!" she shouted hectically.

"*yawn* that's nice…" I said, half-awake. I leaned my head back onto the table and was about to go back asleep when I shot back up after realizing what she was saying. "Oh dear…" I looked at Shigure for advice on what to do, but before he could say anything, Kyo and Yuki began to argue.

"How are we supposed to explain this mess?" Kyo shouted.

"Don't blame us. _You're_ the one who got us into it in the first place, stupid cat." Yuki replied.

"Why you—" Kyo was about to pounce on Yuki when I picked him up and held him in my lap. "Let me go—let me go!"

"That's enough Kyo," I said calmly. "You can lose a fight with Yuki later, okay? Right now we need to explain this whole thing to Tohru."

"Y-Y-You mean you _knew_ about—" Tohru asked shocked.

I nodded. "The Sohma family is cursed, for lack of a better phrase." Shigure began as everyone started to calm down. "For hundreds of years, our family has been possessed by the twelve vengeful spirits that correspond to the Chinese Zodiac as well as the cat from the legend."

"I've known about their secret since I came to live with Shigure." I told her. "They don't have powers or anything like that other than the ability to communicate with their respective animals."

"When our bodies become weak, or, for some reason, when we're hugged by someone of the opposite gender, we transform," Shigure added. "It's not permanent and we do change back after a while, however…"

POOF

I quickly turned Tohru's face away from the guys as they changed back. "When they change back, they're naked." Her face turned beet red when I explained this to her. I giggled at her reaction—spending ten years with the Sohmas, I've become used to the circumstances surrounding the zodiac curse.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"Oh no—what time is—" I checked my watch's alarm and saw I was already late for school. "DAMMIT!" I ran up the stairs and quickly got changed into my uniform. "Yuki, Tohru, you two better hurry up or we'll all be late for school!" I shouted as I pulled my shirt over my head. I didn't have time to properly brush my hair, so I just slid my headband on and ran back downstairs.

***At Lunch***

Yuki, Tohru and I somehow managed to make it to school before the first bell rang. Kiki walked over to me while dragging her older brother, Kippei, behind her by his tie.

"I know that look…" I sighed.

"Hm? What look?" Tohru asked, just now noticing them.

"Kippei must've done something to piss Kiki off…" I explained. "Even though they're siblings they sometimes act as if they're a couple." I began to laugh. "One time, Kiki saw Kippei talking to a classmate of his as if he was gonna ask her out and she got real pissed. 'I can't allow my brother to be with just _any_ woman. He's mine and mine alone!' she said."

Of course, I knew that Kiki didn't mean she loved her brother that way—but by Tohru's expression, she obviously didn't. For as long as I've known them, Kiki has _**always**_ been possessive of her older brother. Back in elementary school, whenever we went to the park she wouldn't even let him play with anyone other than her. It was an odd relationship to anyone who didn't know them, but I knew it was how she showed him how much she loved him.

Kiki threw Kippei into her chair and, while still holding onto his tie, pointed at me with her free hand. "Wha—"

"TELL HER—NOW!" Kiki said angrily.

"But I—" Kiki glared at her brother with her "dagger stare" and Kippei knew he had no choice if he wanted to make it to next period. "Alright, alright already!" Kiki let go of his tie and he turned to me. "Tsukiko, it was me. I'm the one who sent in one of your pictures to the gallery."

I blushed. "W-W-WHAT?! WHY!?"

"Tsukiko!" Tohru exclaimed.

I had unconsciously reached across the desk and grabbed Kippei's shirt collar. I let go and sat back down, my face a deep red. "Why would you do that to me Kippei?"

"It's cause I _knew_ you'd never submit one on your own!" Kippei exclaimed. "You're really talented Tsuki and you shouldn't try to hide it!"

"She wasn't trying to hide it, nimrod!" Kiki shouted hitting him on the head.

They began to squabble, but I just sat there with my head down. Kiki was right; I wasn't trying to hide anything… I just wasn't _ready_ to submit it to a gallery yet. Truthfully, I'm really insecure about my drawings, especially since I wasn't able to draw what I _really_ wanted to draw.

"Tsukiko? Tsukiko, are you okay?"

***Tohru POV***

"Excuse me," Tsukiko stood up and walked out of the classroom. She seemed to be so sad.

"GRRR—YOU SEE WHAT YOU DID?!" Kiki shouted, pushing Kippei to the ground. "You're so insensitive! You know how insecure Tsuki is about her drawings!"

"But Tsukiko is really talented!" I said. I wasn't very close with Tsukiko, but we were still friends. I had seen her drawings in art class and when she sketched during lunch and study hall. "I've seen her drawings and they're really good!"

Kiki sighed. "Have you noticed that her drawings are all the same?" she asked. I thought for a minute and couldn't see what she meant. She reached into Tsukiko's desk and pulled out her sketchbook. "Look, all these pictures are either landscapes or of cats. That's all she can draw. That's all she has the _confidence_ to draw."


End file.
